Kelsea Ballerini To Host CMT Music Awards For Third Consecutive Year

CMT and CBS together announce the 2023 CMT Music Awards, country’s only entirely fan-voted awards, will air on Sunday, April 2, 2023, from Austin, Texas’ Moody Centerfor the first time ever. Paramount Global’s signature country music tentpole returns for its global premiere exclusively via the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. 

Multi-platinum country superstar Kelsea Ballerini will return as CMT Music Awards co-host for the third consecutive year, as she revealed tonight during a major surprise on-stage moment with global powerhouse Carrie Underwood as part of her sold-out “The Denim & Rhinestones Tour” stop in ATX at Moody Center. Underwood, who holds the title as the winningest artist in CMT history, with a total of 25 trophies, was revealed as first performer for the 2023 show. 

“Both Austin and Nashville are two of the world’s greatest music cities and we couldn’t be more excited to announce the return of the CMT Music Awards on CBS than with co-host Kelsea Ballerini surprising Carrie Underwood, our most awarded artist, in the middle of her incredible live performance at Moody Center – the exact venue where we’ll all be back exactly five months from today!” shared Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin, Leslie Fram and Jason Owen, Executive Producers, CMT Music Awards. “Our fans are in for an unforgettable night of music with plenty of surprises, as the Live Music Capital meets Music City for the first time ever on a national stage in what will be a true country music extravaganza.”

“The programming team at Oak View Group and Moody Center has spent the past two years cultivating this relationship and working to endear CMT, CBS and Paramount to Austin and our new, world-class arena. CMT’s commitment to Austin reflects those efforts and we couldn’t be more grateful and excited to host them next year,” says Michael Owens, Vice President of Programming, Moody Center. 

“We are beyond thrilled to welcome the CMT Music Awards to Moody Center in 2023! This event will have not only a huge financial impact on Austin and its tourism industry, but it will also showcase two of the top music brands globally, Austin as The Live Music Capital of the World and Country Music Television,” says Tom Noonan, President & CEO, Austin CVB.

Additional details for the 2023 CMT Music Awards will be announced soon.

For more information and news, visit CMT.com